Portmore residents will have to brace for less water in their pipes over the coming weeks. The National Water Commission (NWC) has revealed that, due to the dwindling supplies in the two Corporate Area catchment facilities, water earmarked for Portmore residents will be diverted to locations in Kingston and St. Andrew.
As a result, Portmore residents will experience water disruptions between eight in the morning and five in the afternoon. It's understood that water pressure in Portmore will be lower than normal, due to the diversion of supply.
Criminals
In the meantime, the NWC is facing yet another crisis, as it tries to supply the much needed commodity to its customers. NWC officials say efforts to provide water to its St. Andrew and St. Catherine customers during the ongoing drought, have been thwarted by criminal elements.
NWC officials say vandals removed electrical cables from the Forest Hills water supply system in St. Andrew, and the recently re-commissioned Government Park well in St. Catherine over the weekend.The Forrest Hills system, which is used to augment the water supply to sections of the Constant Spring service areas since the start of the drought, was vandalised on Saturday. The vandals removed cables from the control box.
On Sunday, the NWC said similar discoveries were made at the Government Park number one well, when a mobile operator found that the cables had been removed from the control box at the facility. The well was recently brought back into operation to boost water supply to sections of Portmore by providing an additional 1.5 million gallons per day.
The NWC is again appealing to the perpetrators to desist from these acts of vandalism, saying they put a strain on its operations. The police have launched an investigation into the incidents.
Clarendon
The NWC will be imposing restrictions on water supply one Clarendon community, causing residents to be faced with the similar situation being experienced by other customers in the Corporate Area. It has announced that residents of Chatteau will be without the service of the Chatteau Well for more than a month.
It states that the Well will be out of operation, as OF next Monday, for a period of 35 days, in order to carry out extensive rehabilitative works on the well. The well, which serves customers in Sevens Heights, Oliver Gardens, Bryan’s Pen, Effortville, Sevens Road, and all roads leading off, was recently assessed. It was found to be under-performing, and as a consequence, will be taken out of service to facilitate the necessary repair and rehabilitative works.
The Commission says customers will receive regulated water supply during this period, from 7.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m., daily. It adds that trucked water will also be provided to those areas that may have difficulty getting the commodity during the regulated service.
The NWC is also appealing to customers to store and conserve water during this period.
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